EDIT: CHANGED THE AFTER FIGHT SCENE. HAPPY, ZABUZA AND HAKU FANS?
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" This is a pretty bad situation." said Kakashi. He was seated with his team and Tazuna's family in the beach home. Sakura and Tazuna had been to the market that day to buy food and had discovered that Gato was dead by Zabuza's hand, and now the considerable amount of fighters that Gato had hired working for him.
" Yeah." said Tazuna with a nod. " None of my workers are returning, and I'm afraid they have a good reason for that. If they've got to watch out for a jounin rank ninja and all of Gato's men…."
" We're going to have to take out Zabuza." said Kakashi. " But I'll need a few more days to rest. Unfortunately, that means Zabuza and Haku will have more time to heal as well. We're going to make up for this by doing some special training."
" Really?" said Naruto. He was always excited for training.
" Will it make much of a difference?" asked Sakura. " A few days isn't much time."
" This isn't normal training." said Kakashi, standing up. " By the time it's finished, you'll be several times stronger than you are now."
" Let's get going!" said Naruto, throwing on his Uzamaki cloak and racing outside.
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" This looks like a good spot." said Kakashi, looking around the clearing. " It's got some good trees and it's a long way from the village. We won't run into anyone out here."
" So what are we doing?" asked Naruto, quivering enthusiastically.
" Tree climbing." said Kakashi.
" We already know how to climb trees." said Sakura.
" Not like this." said Kakashi, walking calmly up the side of a tree and shocking his students. " It's a exercise in how to focus your chakra to a specific point in your body, in this case, your feet."
" Awesome!" shouted Naruto.
" How will that help in a fight?" asked Sasuke, sounding a little unconvinced.
" Well, more mobility is always useful." said Kakashi, walking back down. " But focusing one's chakra is a very useful skill. Focus chakra into your legs and release it all at once for a burst of speed. Focus chakra into your fist and release it as you punch for a more powerful hit. There's a lot of things you can do."
" So, how does it work?" asked Sakura, looking at one of the trees.
" Focus your chakra into your feet and have it extend out a short distance so that it's pulling you onto the tree." said Kakashi. " Use a kunai to mark how high you get."
" Yaaaaa!" shouted Naruto, racing at the nearest tree. He leapt up and placed a foot on the tree, which immediately splintered as he hit it. He fell several feet to the ground with a thud.
" Oh, and if you focus too much chakra, that happens." said Kakashi. " Too much, you break the tree. Too little you fall off."
" Time to try it then." said Sakura. She raced over to a tree and leapt up, running twenty steps up the side of the tree on her first try. She slashed the bark with a kunai as she lost control halfway up, then flipped backwards and landed gracefully.
It's not very hard, then. thought Sasuke, racing towards his tree. He, however, only got four steps before the bark broke off on his foot and he fell.
" It looks like Sakura's the best at chakra control for the moment." said Kakashi, giving her a grin. " I want you all to keep practicing. I'll be over here, reading."
The genin took to their teachers words and immediately set back to work.
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As the sun set, all the genin were panting for breath.
Sakura had mastered tree climbing after a hour, making it to the top every time. Kakashi had set her to practicing water walking, which was more difficult, but she managed to get it after a while. After that all she could do was repetition so she could build up her chakra reserves.
Naruto and Sasuke, however, were having more trouble.
Sasuke was able to get fourteen steps up the tree while Naruto was still stuck at six. They were making progress, but it was incredibly slow compared to Sakura's. Needless to say, Sasuke was angry about this.
" That's enough for today." said Kakashi with a yawn. He'd had a nice, relaxing day. The genin followed him back to the house, where they ate ravenously and fell asleep in an instant.
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"Why am I not getting this?" panted Sasuke, looking at the tree. They had been training for four days and he had barely moved from his marks from the first day. Naruto was beginning to creep up on him and Sakura wasn't even there anymore. Kakashi had said she couldn't get any better at chakra control, so he was teaching her the technique to make explosive tags.
The boys were very jealous, since Kakashi had told them he didn't think they had the control to make the tags for a long time. Everyone with a Y chromosome love's explosions.
" Like I know." grumbled Naruto, picking himself out of the dirt. " Sakura-chan's advice is helping a little, but it's still hard."
" Hey." said Sasuke, blushing and looking away. He didn't like asking for help. " Um…what did Sakura tell you?"
" She said there was some sort of spiritual side to chakra and that you had to calm yourself." said Naruto. " I've tried, but that's not all of it. It's like you have to have the right amounts of calmness and drive at the same time. It's like trying not to become to excited someone buys you ramen but still acting really happy."
" Of course you mention ramen." said Sasuke, looking to the tree. It's worth a shot. he thought, racing towards the tree. He tried to relax and force himself on at the same time as he took the first, then second, then third step.
When he lost control on the twenty second step, he marked the spot before flipping off the tree.
" What the hell?" shouted Naruto. " How'd you do that?"
" I did what Sakura suggested." said Sasuke with a smirk.
" Dang." said Naruto. " I guess I shouldn't have told you."
" Thanks, though."
Naruto swiveled on the spot.
" Did you just thank me?" he asked incredulously.
" Yeah." said Sasuke, looking away. " Don't get used to it."
" Ha!" laughed Naruto. " I knew saving your life was worth it!"
Sasuke's eye twitched. I'm going to hear about that for a long time.
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" We've pretty much got it." said Sasuke, taking a seat at the table and reaching for some sushi.
" That's good. How far up?" asked Kakashi.
" I can usually get to about twenty five and Sasuke hit thirty once." said Naruto though a mouthful of ramen.
" That's pretty good." said Kakashi. " It usually takes a month or two to get that good. You've done pretty well."
" Hey, Sakura-chan, how's the explosive tag thing coming?" Naruto asked, looking to his female teammate. Her hair was slightly singed and she had a few burns.
" Okay." she said proudly. " I've managed to make a few that would pass inspection. The others aren't so good. Sometimes they explode too soon or not at all."
" And don't forget that one time." said Kakashi with a smirk.
" What happened?" asked Naruto curiously.
" If you ever tell anyone, I will kill you." Sakura hissed though her teeth at Kakashi. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other in surprise.
" Don't worry, I won't." said Kakashi with a laugh. " So, now that I've had time to recover, it's time to deal with Zabuza. Tomorrow we're going to scout out around the village and find out where Gato's men are coming from. I'll bet you that's where we find Zabuza and Haku."
" I'm looking forward to a rematch." said Naruto, cracking his knuckles.
" Given what I know of Haku and Zabuza, I think it would be best if I fought Haku while you three kept Zabuza occupied." said Kakashi. " Don't do anything stupid against him. I'll finish off Haku as fast as I can, then come take on Zabuza. He's a slower attacker, so you should have no trouble using your Sharingan to dodge." he said with a look to Sasuke.
" Fine by me." said Sasuke. " But if it came to it, I think me and Sakura could beat Haku."
" R-really?" said Sakura, heart fluttering with hope.
" I was able to counter all his senbon." said Sasuke. " I just needed a little extra help. Throwing an explosive tag or two would be all you'd need to do."
" Hey, each of you take one of these." said Naruto, taking out his three remaining paper seals and handing them to his teammates. " Just in case I need to teleport to you."
" Don't be jumping in front of any more attacks." said Kakashi.
" I won't. Don't worry." said Naruto with a laugh.
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" There he is." said Naruto.
" Again?" said Sakura, covering her eyes. " How much can one guy pee?"
" He might want to see a doctor." said Naruto. " That can't be healthy."
" Peeing that much?"
" No, the rash."
Finding Zabuza's hideout hadn't been hard. Gato's men were run of the mill mercenaries, not ninja, so they weren't too hard to follow. Naruto and Sakura were on watch on one side of the building while Sasuke and Kakashi explored the perimeter. Unfortunately, the dock was on that side, and there was one rather burly guard who had a rather small bladder.
He'd been by twelve times to relieve himself.
" I'm back." said Kakashi, inching though the brush. " Ooh. That guy needs to see a doctor."
This can't get much more awkward, at least. thought Sakura, cringing.
" It looks like this is the best entry point." said Sasuke, sneaking up. " Ouch. That guy needs to go see a doctor."
" So, here's the plan." said Kakashi as Sakura sweat dropped. " We'll move in silently and begin to look around for Zabuza and Haku. We'll split into teams. Sasuke and Naruto, me and Sakura."
" Right." said Naruto with a nod.
" If you run into them, decide what the best course of action is." said Kakashi, drawing a kunai. " If it's Zabuza, back off. If it's Haku, decide if you can take him. You got pretty close last time. Naruto, take out the guard."
Without hesitation Naruto threw his teleportation kunai. It stuck the wall behind the urinating man who didn't have time to react before Naruto appeared and knocked him out.
" What are you doing?" whispered Sasuke as he arrived. Sakura and Kakashi were checking the door to make sure nobody else was there.
" Leaving him a note." said Naruto, who was writing on the mans face with a marker. " He needs to get that rash looked at. He might lose 'em."
Sasuke nodded. Even if the man was his enemy, he didn't deserve that.
" Let's go." said Kakashi. The two groups split up and began to search the compound.
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" Not here." whispered Naruto, looking though the crack of a door.
" We've searched most of this place." said Sasuke, creeping down the hall. " Either they aren't here or we're in an trap."
For twenty minutes they had been moving though the strange building, looking for anyone. Except for a guard or two the building was empty, seeming like it had been emptied recently. As Naruto and Sasuke turned a corner, they found Kakashi and Sakura waiting.
" No luck?" asked Kakashi.
" None." replied Sasuke.
" Then they aren't here." said Kakashi. " We found room with a bed and some bloody bandages, but that's it."
" So where are they?" asked Naruto.
" I think we should head back to the village." said Kakashi. " I have a feeling they might be causing some trouble there."
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Twenty minutes later they had returned. Dawn was breaking as they crept though the forests. The village looked fine and to their dismay, there was no sign of the water ninja.
" This doesn't make sense." said Kakashi. " From what I know of him, Zabuza's not the type to run. And he's got Gato's men backing him up. In a fight, he'd have the advantage. So where is he?"
" Help! Help!"
" That's Tazuna's grandson!" said Sakura in alarm, noticing the small boy running though the village. A few people were awoken by his cries and came to see what was the matter.
" Gato sent his men to kill grandpa and mom!" the small boy shouted.
In a blur the leaf ninja were besides him.
" How many?" asked Kakashi, kneeling to face the Inari.
" Ten. And there was this girl in a green robe commanding them." said the terrified kid. " They tied up grandpa and mom."
" Damn." swore Kakashi. " You three, stay here." he commanded. " Naruto, watch for a flare in the sky. That means I'll need you to come in for backup."
" Why are we staying here?" asked Naruto.
" Because Zabuza's probably going to attack here too." said Kakashi. " Gato has more hired killers than that. If they attack here I'll need you to inform me. Saving Tazuna is the priority, but if the village is attacked…"
" Got it." said Naruto. Kakashi dashed off at full speed, vanishing into the trees moments later.
" I knew that would work." said Inari. Before anyone could ask what, there was a puff of smoke and Zabuza appeared in the boys place. Naruto drew his kunai, but didn't do it fast enough and was knocked into the side of a building by a mighty kick. Sakura and Sasuke leapt several paces away, flanking Zabuza and drawing their weapons.
" Kakashi's going to be in for a surprise." chuckled Zabuza. " His brat kids are going to be long dead by the time he returns."
" Naruto, warn-"
" He won't be able to." said a quiet voice. Haku had appeared and had a knife to Naruto's throat and twisted one of Naruto's arms behind his back. " No matter how fast he is, he can't escape this."
" Heh. You guy's think I'm fast?" said Naruto with a smirk.
" You demonstrated a jutsu that allowed you to move even faster than I can." said Haku, not releasing his grip. " It was quite impressive, but we were ready -"
He trailed off as Naruto vanished.
" What the hell?" said Zabuza, drawing his sword.
" Naruto's even faster than you thought." said Sasuke with a smirk. " Now!"
In unison Sakura and Sasuke launched shuriken from both sides. Zabuza was forced to escape with a replacement.
" We need to get them away from the village!" shouted Sakura as a few civilians began to look out.
" Get to the bridge!" shouted Sasuke, already focusing chakra. Sakura did the same and they sped off. Zabuza and Haku, however, were close behind.
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" Sensei!" shouted Naruto as he appeared.
However, he doubted anyone heard it. Tazuna's small beach house was a war zone, with Kakashi fighting off scores of Gato's men at once.
" Naruto!" shouted Kakashi when he saw the noticeable boy. " It's a trap!"
" I know!" said Naruto, parrying a slash with a sword and stabbing with his kunai. " Zabuza and Haku are attacking Sakura and Sasuke!" he said as he launched one of the men back with a flying kick. They were good fighters, but they weren't ninja.
" They'll hold them off for a moment!" said Kakashi. " But they'll need me to fight them! Can you handle this?"
Naruto looked at the forty thugs who had surrounded them, swords drawn.
" Yeah!" he said confidently. " Get going!"
" See ya!" said Kakashi, dashing off into the trees.
" Where the hell's he-"
The thug was cut off as two explosive kunai whizzed though the trees, a parting gift from Kakashi. As the thugs scattered, Naruto smirked.
This was going to be awesome.
He leapt in a flying kick at the nearest thug as he threw his kunai at another, who deflected the blade. As the first thug fell, Naruto teleported. He caught the man with a sweep kick and uppercut, knocking him down.
The rest of Gato's men took him a lot more serious after that.
Naruto focused a burst of chakra as they charged, trying to overwhelm him, and leapt into the air. As they looked up he teleported back down and delivered several fast punches to one's stomach while he was distracted, then grabbed his kunai from the sand.
This was going to be a long fight.
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Sakura was aware she was doing a lot of damage to the precious bridge.
She wasn't really fussed.
" Detonate!" she said, forming the seal. Zabuza dodged the explosion and swung his sword, but she escaped the hit with a replacement, leaving behind a log covered in explosive tags. Zabuza swore as he leapt away from the second explosion.
Haku and Sasuke had continued their fight from before. Haku was having trouble this time, as the would he had sustained was serious, but Sasuke was still forced onto the defensive. While he could parry every senbon, the ice jutsu were starting to annoy him.
He launched another fireball as Haku melted into a mirror. No matter what he used, Haku was always safe in the mirrors. It didn't make sense to him. Fire was supposed to melt ice, right?
" Detonate!" said Sakura. There was an explosion as a chunk of the bridge vaporized. Zabuza, unfortunately, dodged that one as well.
" Your running out of those." he said, sounding amused. " It's rather interesting. You can count your life span in how many of those you have left."
" Sakura, down!" shouted Sasuke. Sakura hit the deck as a flurry of ice shuriken shot past her. Haku had taken the opportunity to try and kill her and would have succeeded if not for Sasuke's warning. Sakura rolled to the side as Zabuza brought his sword down, shattering the stone in a mighty blow.
Their just too good. thought Sakura, drawing her last two explosive kunai. I don't have any chakra left and Sasuke's got hit a few times….If Naruto doesn't get back with sensei soon, we're going to die.
" Yo." said Kakashi, appearing in a puff of smoke. " Zabuza, nice to see you. Have you been giving my cute students a workout?"
" Shut up!" shouted Zabuza, hurling the blade. Kakashi flipped over and charged, a Chidori charging in his hand.
" Sakura, go help Sasuke!" shouted Kakashi.
" Right!" said Sakura, turning towards her crush and Sasuke's fight. Sasuke was having trouble dodging due to a senbon in his leg, so Sakura threw a explosive kunai at the mirror housing Haku. It exploded, not destroying the mirror but obstructing Haku's view long enough for Sasuke to remove the senbon.
" Stay back." said Sasuke, standing up. " You won't be fast enough to dodge his attacks."
" Okay, Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, keeping her distance.
" I had planned on taking out Haku first." said Kakashi, ducking a shuriken. Zabuza landed by his sword and picked it up with one hand. " But I guess it's politer to take you out first. You did want to get me back, right?"
" And I will." said Zabuza, racing forwards and slashing. Kakashi dodged the attack and lunched with the Chidori, stabbing towards Zabuza, but the mist ninja performed a replacement jutsu with a water clone just in time.
" I really hate that eye of yours." said Zabuza, forming a hand seal. " I hate using this jutsu. Water Dragon technique!" he shouted as a wave rose from the side of the bridge and launched itself at Kakashi. Kakashi dodged away from the main impact, but the bridge was flooded with water.
To Kakashi's horror, as he landed Zabuza morphed out of the water and put out his hand. The water flowed upwards and formed a sphere around Kakashi, who found himself unable to move.
" Got-!"
Before Zabuza could claim victory, Kakashi caught him with the Sharingan. It whirled quickly as he hypnotized the mist ninja.
Haku was just starting to make progress against Sasuke again when he saw Zabuza draw a kunai. However, the fact that Zabuza was staring Kakashi in the eye was what caught his alarm. He never looks people in the eye as he kills them! thought Haku in alarm. He must have gotten trapped by the Sharingan!
And to his horror, he saw Zabuza begin to stab towards his own throat with the weapon. Thanks to the speed granted by the ice mirror technique it seemed tortuously slow.
Without a thought to his personal safety, he launched himself from the mirror.
A moment before Zabuza killed himself Haku caught his arm and forced him away. This snapped Zabuza out of the hypnosis, but also broke the water prison. Haku spun to face Kakashi as the Copy Ninja charged another Chidori and jabbed forward. Haku barely had enough time to form a ice mirror in front of him to block the attack.
Unfortunately, the legendary lightning jutsu cut straight though.
Haku had never seen his mirror broken and had not expected to be hit. Already weak from exertion and his half healed chest wound, he barely avoided being killed by the attack, moving back just enough that Kakashi was only able to touch his fingertips to Haku. This was enough, however, to slash open Haku's skin.
" Dammit!" shouted Zabuza as Haku fell back. He began to form the seals for his most powerful jutsu, but Kakashi was facing him, already mimic his actions.
" Super Waterfall technique!" said the two jounin in unison. Water rose from the ocean and struck the bridge, completely flooding it. Both leaf and mist ninja were knocked backwards and drug along the stonework, but they managed to avoid being pulled over.
" Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura as the flow abated, standing up first. " Are y-"
She was cut off as a senbon struck her in the heart.
" Sakura!" shouted Sasuke as she fell backwards. Kakashi was already on his feet and facing Zabuza. Sasuke didn't get to her in time and she hit the ground hard, her body like a rag doll.
" Good shot, Haku." said Zabuza , struggling to stand. He had hit a large stone hard, however, and his left arm was bent and broken. " Dammit, I'm not going to be able to continue." he said.
" I can take them, master Zabuza." said Haku, who had frozen his wounds so they'd stop bleeding. It wasn't a good solution, but it was fast.
" Sasuke, is she o…kay…." said Kakashi, trailing off as he collapsed. No! I overused the Sharingan! he thought, struggling to move. He barely had the energy to stay conscious, however.
" We will finish this here." said Haku, looking to Sasuke, who was knelt over Sakura's motionless body. " I've taken your precious person, so face me and fight properly."
" She wasn't precious to me." said Sasuke, standing up. He didn't face Haku, however. " I hated her."
" How odd." said Haku, drawing more of his infinite needles. " I thought you were her friend."
" I spent most of the last few years wishing she were gone." said Sasuke, voice quivering with rage. " She annoyed me and bothered me all the time. Other than my brother, she is my least favorite person in the world. But you know why I'm angry? She was the only one who stayed, no matter how often I told her to go away. All the other girls that pestered me would get over me and find a boyfriend or give up, but she stayed. She even knew that I wasn't everything she wanted and thought I was a jerk, unlike the others. She was the only person I could count on to never go away."
He turned to Haku. Blood was pouring from his eyes, which were open unnaturally wide, all three tomoe fully visible and quickly spinning. He had fully activated his Sharingan.
" I live for one reason." said Sasuke, staring at Haku without blinking. The effeminate boy could sense the hatred and killing intent emanating from Sasuke. " To kill my brother. It's been a horrible existence, because I'm too weak to ever accomplish that goal. You took Sakura, the one person who made it bearable, away."
Haku threw the senbon and formed a mirror, but Sasuke moved in a blur, deflecting the projectiles and slamming a vicious punch into Haku's stomach. The ice ninja was vomiting before he hit the ground. Sasuke was on top of him in a instant, pinning him and furiously beating Haku. He wasn't truly aware how deformed the boys face had become until Zabuza raced over, fighting his pain as he attempted to stop Sasuke.
Unfortunately, Sasuke caught Zabuza's gaze and was paralyzed by the hypnotic eyes. Sasuke could feel unparallel agony in his eyes, telling him he had pushed the limits of his eyes, and found himself unable to do much more than hold Zabuza in place as their wills fought.
Unfortunately, Haku seized the moment to throw Sasuke from him. The young Uchiha landed a short distance away, feeling his Sharingan deactivate. He didn't have the chakra to continue to use them, and as he stood and faced Haku, he knew he was at the end of his endurance.
Haku was not doing much better. One eye was already swollen shut and blood poured from his nose. Zabuza collapsed again, drained from the mental battle against the Sharingan.
Haku suddenly coughed, spitting out blood. Sasuke tried to attack during this opening, but all he was able to do was fall to his knees. Both sides had fought themselves to exaustion and the only thing that the last two conscious combatants could do was glare at each other.
" Man, we lucked out." said a voice. Sasuke looked up weakly. Two samurai were looking down at him and Haku, smiling viciously.
" Ge-get master Zabuza to safety." Haku gurgled though a busted lip.
" Why?" laughed one of the men. " There's a bounty on you and him. We might as well kill you two and claim it. And we'll do the leaf ninja just to be safe."
Sasuke tried to get to his feet as one of the men walked over towards him, katana drawn.
" Bye." said the samurai, swinging his blade. Before it hit, however, there was a flash of yellow light. Naruto appeared and cut the sword in two with his kunai. He had been slashed and stabbed a number of times, but the wounds didn't look too serious.
Before the samurai could react Naruto uppercutted him, knocking him out. The other was able to attack once before Naruto kicked him off the bridge.
" Saved you again, teme." panted Naruto. " But this one doesn't' count."
" Naruto." gasped Sakura. " Haku and Zabuza are weak, sensei's down, and Sakura's dead."
" What?" said Naruto in alarm. " S-sakura-chan…"
" What?" croaked a voice. Sasuke and Naruto looked over and saw Sakura, who was standing weakly.
" Y-your alive." said Sasuke in shock.
" Sensei saved me with a medical jutsu. The senbon hit me in the heart, but barely pierced in." she said. Kakashi walked forward, but he was obviously weary. " He said had he been a few seconds late I would have died."
" We lost again." said Zabuza, sitting up. " Make it quick, then."
" I don't think we'll be killing you." said Kakashi with a groan of pain. " Since we captured you…."
He was cut off as two masked mist ANBU landed besides Zabuza and Haku, weapons drawn. They made an attempt to capture the two missing-nin, but Zabuza and Haku's bodies both turned to water and they vanished.
" Damn." said one ot the ANBU before vanishing.
the tired leaf ninja sat against the side of the bridge. Sakura pulled out her medical kit and began to treat Sasuke's wounds.
" Zabuza and Haku were ninja that abandoned their village, Naruto." said Kakashi, relaxing his sore muscles. " The ANBU from their village would have been tracking them, waiting for a chance to kill them. Villages don't allow traitors who know their jutsu to survive for long. We've probably weakened Zabuza and Haku to a point that they can be beaten. You never know with ninja of their rank, though."
" Oh." said Naruto, obviously shaken. " Hey, I saved Tazuna and his family."
" That's good." said Kakashi with a smile. He could see the villagers walking onto the ruined bridge and the old man running towards them.
" Did you win?" asked Tazuna he skidded to a halt.
" We did." said Kakashi, not even sitting up.
" Good!" said the old man irately. " You've done enough damage to the bridge we won't be able to finish it for a few more months!"
" Well, Gato and his men are gone." said Kakashi. " So things should go better, right?"
" I guess they will." said Tazuna. " You all look like crap."
" We'd appreciate if you could give us somewhere to heal up." said Kakashi.
" We'd be glad to." said Tsunami, walking forwards. " I've sent for someone to come with stretchers."
" Thanks." said Kakashi. " I'm going to pass out now."
He did just that.
" Hey, I can still help." said Naruto, getting to his feet. " What can I do?"
" Just relax." said Tazuna. " We'll handle things for a little while."
" I think I've got this one on." said Sakura, finishing the pressure bandage she was applying to a stab wound on Sasuke's arm. " Hold still while I put salve on your leg, Sasuke-kun."
She's still here. he thought, cracking a slight smile. Annoying, fussy, and here.
" Sakura?" he said quietly. I owe her this. he thought.
" Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
" When we get back to the village, let's go out to dinner or something."
" Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, hugging him tightly.
Damn teme. thought Naruto, watching sourly. She was finally starting to notice me.
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The Hokage was, understandably, a little annoyed when Kakashi's team returned from their mission two weeks late, half dead and looking proud of themselves.
" Hey old man!" said Naruto, waving as he entered.
" I assume you have a good reason?" asked the Hokage dryly.
" We had to help rescue a cat from a tree." said Kakashi. " It clawed us a bit."
"…"
" Fine. No jokes."
Kakashi and the genin exchanged looks and launched into the full story of the mission.
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Rock on, princess.